More than 60% of Romanian employees are satisfied and very satisfied with their current jobs, and 57% are optimistic and very optimistic about their future at work, according to an IRES study conducted at the request of Up Romania, a corporate benefits solutions provider.

However, only 33% think that it would be easy to find a new job while 42% believe that it would be very difficult.

Nearly half (43%) of Romanian employees work overtime whereas a third (32%) don’t work more hours than it’s stipulated in the contract. Most of the employees who work overtime are usually those with higher education and bigger salaries.

Most of the employees interviewed perceive their wage levels as high or very high (44%), and only 26% consider them poor and very poor. On the other hand, only half of respondents (54%) believe that the promotions within the company are done correctly, and 19% say the opposite.

In terms of benefits, most Romanian employees would want health insurance (88%), holiday bonuses (88%), meal vouchers (79%), and gift vouchers (77%). The numbers include both the employees who have and want these benefits and those who don’t have them, but would want to benefit from them. Some of the extra salary benefits that don’t exist in Romania yet but the workers would want are cultural vouchers (61%), sports vouchers (57%), and service vouchers (55%).

On a scale of 1 to 10, Romanian employees rate their quality of life at work a 7.5, where 1 represents a very bad quality and 10 is the grade for a very good quality.

Adequate working conditions (physical) (24%), a low level of stress and the existence of activities and spaces for relaxation (10%), and good communication/collaboration between colleagues (7%) are the main elements that lead to a good quality of life at work.

Some 40% of respondents say that the quality of life at work has improved in the last year, compared to the moment they’ve entered the labor market. Also, half of the respondents estimate that they manage to maintain a balance between personal and professional life, and 14% have difficulties in keeping this balance.

The study was conducted between April 1 and April 8 on a sample of over 1,200 employees.

Draft bill: Romanian employees to work fewer hours on Fridays

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com